Santos' flagrant downgraded to Penalty 1, to still pay fine

Arwind Santos will get a sigh of relief. Dennis Acosta (file photo)
By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--Arwind Santos, upon telling his reaction to the Flagrant Foul Penalty 2 to reporters on Sunday night, thought that the penalty was kinda harsh.

"Ano ba naman yun na, ang tagal ko nang naglalaro, yung gaganunin mo doon sa dibdib habang binibigyan ka ng screen pero binigyan ka ng F2?" said Santos, who was rejected in the process.

After a review of the said call by Commissioner Willie Marcial on Tuesday, Santos may have had a point.

Marcial downgraded the said flagrant foul on the San Miguel forward to Penalty 1 as announced by the PBA.

However, Santos was not spared of monetary sanctions as he will pay a fine of PHP5,000 for the said foul.

Fellow Beerman Renaldo Balkman was also slapped with a PHP5,000 fine for his own Flagrant Foul Penalty 1 also during Game 2 of the Commissioner's Cup Finals against Barangay Ginebra.

Chris Ross, who like Santos was ejected on Sunday night, was fined with PHP2,600 for the two technical fouls he incurred.

Joe Devance, who got entangled with Ross in the sequence that led to the latter's second technical foul, got a PHP1,000 fine for his second motion. The same fine was slapped to Kevin Ferrer.